Of The Patriot-News
Mike Dunn seemed a little perplexed.
His Central Dauphin boys' basketball coach, Marty Hasenfuss, hardly gave him any instruction during their final game together and his teammates hardly played any defense.
No harm, though, it was an all-star game.
Dunn and his Pennsylvania teammates came up short to an all-star team from New Jersey 91-69 last night at Susquehanna Twp.
"It's all about fun, it was fun," Dunn said. "No one played defense, it wasn't anything I was used to but it was fun."
It was the Day 1 nightcap of the 29th annual Roundball Showcase All-Star Games.
The event continues at 3:45 p.m. today at Steel-High with North vs. South girls' and boys' games then Maryland vs. Pennsylvania girls' and boys' games.
Not only did New Jersey win the game, those neighbors to the east also won the slam-dunk contest.
Lucius Millinder of Belleville won the halftime event despite some harsh judging. He edged out Marquis Moore of Susquehanna Twp. on his home court.
Teams of Mid-Penn all-stars swept the early games. The Mid-Penn girls downed a Keystone team from elsewhere in the state 79-58. The Mid-Penn boys held off a late rally by the Keystone group for a 98-94 victory.
The loosey-goosey defense in that high-flying game carried over into the nightcap. Isa Carnegie of Plainfield led all scorers with 23 points as New Jersey took advantage.
"It was a three-hour ride here to play in a one-hour game," Carnegie said. "So I had to make sure I played well."
Pennsylvania, left a little short by some no-shows, didn't have the size to match Brendan Rutledge, a 6-8 center from Hopewell Valley Central who finished with eight points, or Millinder, who scored 13.
"They were all right," Dunn said of the Jersey players.
Dunn, who scored 13, is moving on with a scholarship to Philadelphia University. He'll join the Pennsylvania squad tonight as they take on Maryland.
Sean Alexander of Steel-High led Pennsylvania with 14 points and Josh Pope of Milton Hershey and Tyrone Bradley of Chester added 10 points each.
"I knew they were going to play hard, they were defending a home court," said Carnegie, who is undecided on a college.
"A lot of teams don't really play defense in an All-Star game, we tried to hold our team under 60 today. That was our goal."
Courtney Brooks of Susquehanna Twp. and Shay Johnson of Harrisburg scored 15 points each to lead the Mid-Penn girls as they won the opener.
Casey Bachman from Hempfield scored 18 for the Keystone girls.
Chas Rahauser of Chambersburg scored 14 to lead the Mid-Penn boys while Mechanicsburg's Josh Koontz and Red Land's Dave Shanks added 12 apiece.
Hempfield's Zach Musser scored 17 for the Keystone side.
ROXANNE B. MOSES: 255-8229 or rmoses@patriot-news.com